The news circulated widely among Oregon scientists Thursday, and Lubchenco's colleagues told The Oregonian that her appointment would be announced Friday or Saturday.

Her selection signals the incoming administration's focus on aggressive environmental and marine protection and raises the profile of OSU's strong ocean research program.

Lubchenco would be the first woman to head the prominent science agency, which boasts an annual budget of about $4 billion. NOAA encompasses about half the workforce and budget of the Department of Commerce. Its divisions conduct the nation's study of oceans, weather and global warming.

Those divisions include the National Ocean Service, National Weather Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, which has jurisdiction over ocean fishing and is charged with protecting imperiled Northwest salmon and steelhead.

The Fisheries Service's responsibility for salmon gives it a dominant say over activities that affect Northwest fish, from logging to the operation of hydroelectric dams.

Lubchenco has been advising Obama's transition team on science issues, said Jack Barth, another OSU professor. Lubchenco had been on a trip to Australia in recent weeks, but she interrupted her travels there Thursday to head to Chicago, where Obama is announcing his appointments.

"I've always been amazed by her ability to see the big picture and cut to the chase," Barth said. "She's going to be a very strong voice for oceanic and atmospheric science and marine ecology."

Lubchenco has actively encouraged fellow scientists to better communicate their research to the public and been active in urging controls on greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. She helped lead a panel created by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to develop an Oregon strategy on climate change.

John Byrne, a former OSU president who headed NOAA during the Reagan administration, learned of Lubchenco's selection Thursday and said she is an ideal pick. "It's been great for Oregon State to have her here, and it's a big kudo for Jane and for Oregon State," Byrne said.

A former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Ecological Society of America, Lubchenco has won many of the top awards in her field including a so-called MacArthur "genius" Fellowship. She is widely respected within the science community and has long spoken strongly of the need to protect marine ecosystems.

But her advocacy of setting aside marine reserves has made her something of a lightning rod in some parts of Oregon. Coastal communities, for instance, are suspicious that such reserves will close off important fishing grounds.

"It's somewhat disappointing that they are not getting someone who's a little bit better versed in fisheries," said Rod Moore, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association in Portland. While it's positive to have an Oregonian so high in the Obama administration, he said, "I hope she remembers there's a seafood industry that's important to our coastal economy."

However, environmental and ocean protection groups quickly sent out press releases Thursday praising Lubchenco's appointment. They characterized her as being perhaps the strongest conservation voice appointed to a leadership position in the new administration.

Her selection suggests that the new administration sees scientists playing a direct role in the development of national policies on key environmental issues such as global warming.

"She is one of those rare people who can sit at the intersection of science and policy," said David Festa, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund, on which Lubchenco is vice chair of the Board of Trustees. "That's even more important right now because of the magnitude of the challenges facing us."

She has warned of the collapse of many fisheries, at least in part because of overfishing.

"The awakening view is that living oceans are both more valuable as well as more vulnerable than we have commonly appreciated," she told the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

Lubchenco testified before Congress earlier this year, pushing for public education and more funding for research. She also said the nation must reduce greenhouse gas emissions while making protection of ocean ecosystems one of its highest priorities.

Jane LubchencoCrabs lie dead on the sea floor off the Oregon Coast during a "dead zone" episode in 2006.

She has been closely involved in OSU research into unusual "dead zones" that have appeared off the Oregon Coast in recent summers, suffocating marine life such as crabs and starfish. OSU scientists have tied the dead zones to unusual weather patterns that they say may be related to global warming.

However, researchers had a difficult time persuading NOAA agencies to join research into the dead zones, Barth said. "That's something she could help with immediately," he said.

Lubchenco has also warned that greenhouse gases are turning the ocean more acid, which could undermine the marine food chain by making it impossible for many ocean creatures to build their shells.

"Climate-related stresses compound many previously existing stresses on ocean ecosystems," Lubchenco told Congress. "If society wishes to continue to benefit from the bounty and the beauty of the oceans, it will need to implement new and significantly more effective policies than currently exist."